Ian Cole (28) of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates for a loose puck against Markus Granlund #60 of the Vancouver Canucks in the first period during the game at PPG PAINTS Arena on Nov. 22, 2017 in Pittsburgh.

Jared Bednar is regarded as a player’s coach, and newly signed Avalanche players Ian Cole and Matt Calvert each previously played for him in the American Hockey League. Those relationships, in addition to the Avs’ success last season with a young, exciting core, put Colorado at the top of the list when Cole and Calvert chose their free-agent destination Sunday.

“The success Colorado had last year, the trajectory that I personally see them on — only getting better, only increasing their chances of doing something better — there’s just a lot to really like about the team situation, not to mention how great the city is,” Cole said Monday in a conference call.

A 29-year-old defenseman who won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017, Cole played for Bednar with the Peoria Rivermen in 2010-12, when Bednar was a first-year AHL head coach. Calvert, a 28-year-old winger who was the Columbus Blue Jackets’ longest-tenured player, played for the AHL’s Springfield Falcons in 2012-13 when Bednar was an assistant coach.

“I was looking to go somewhere where the team was solid, the team was growing,” Calvert said. “Obviously it’s a very young team. They’ve got some very good players. That’s the first priority. I want to win. And I really can see us do that in Colorado. And, obviously, the city — beautiful. (Previously) I’ve only been to it for hockey games, when you’re in and out so you really don’t get to see much of it. But the wife and I traveled down last week and had a chance to see some areas where guys live and all the facilities, and meet the management and coaches. It was kind of a no-brainer for us.”

Cole and Calvert — teammates late last season after Cole was traded from Pittsburgh to Columbus — each signed three-year contracts with values of $12.75 million and $8.4 million, respectively.

Cole met Bednar as a first-year professional, after signing with the St. Louis Blues following three years at Notre Dame.

“I was a wide-eyed rookie trying to figure out how to transition into the pro game. I had just left college after my junior season and he was great with me, as far as setting the stage for how a pro should act and how a pro should play,” Cole said of Bednar. “There were some hard lessons there, certainly, but none that, looking back now, I don’t completely agree with. I think he’s a great coach and a great human being, too, and it’s certainly a relationship that I’m looking forward to furthering.”

Footnote. The Avs on Monday announced the minor-league signings of goalie Joe Cannata and forwards Scott Kosmachuk and Sheldon Dries. Cannata, 28, was with Colorado’s organization last season, leading the Colorado Eagles to a second-consecutive ECHL championship. Kosmachuk, 24, comes over from the American Hockey League’s Hartford Wolf Pack, and Dries, also 24, played for the AHL’s Texas Stars last season. Dries is a former Western Michigan standout who led all AHL rookies with 10 postseason goals as Texas advanced to the Calder Cup Finals, losing to the Toronto Marlies.

In response to an eight-game losing skid, the Avs have climbed back in the Western Conference playoff picture by producing points in six of their last eight games -- a stretch capped by Wednesday night's 7-1 victory over the Central Division-leading Winnipeg Jets at the Pepsi Center.

The Avalanche's lines in Wednesday night's game against the Winnipeg Jets will again look as if coach Jared Bednar drew names from a hat. There is a method to his madness, however, and Bednar wants to stick with what helped deliver a 3-0 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.